


these bruised lives

by sonyalone



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Multi, Unhealthy Relationships, but also NOT POOR ANGELA, derek x angela deserved to burn, poor angela???, stuff yet to be tagged
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-11 21:50:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17454884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonyalone/pseuds/sonyalone
Summary: an eventual series of drabbles inspired by bluelake, creation of s + e. xo





	these bruised lives

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to S, as nearly everything in my life is, and is the Only Person who will read this and understand.

**Baby Missing 3 Hours Is Found in Backseat of Grandparent's Totalled Car**

By DOMINIC A. WALSH     FEB. 9, 1987

 

A baby girl was found alive Wednesday in the back seat of an Audi Sedan when it careened off their side of the road, hydroplaning off a Buffalo street and into the oncoming traffic. Seven people were fatally injured and two injured when their cars hydroplaned into the sports cars piling up. The police said it was the worst vehicular accident of the year in the city.

Investigators believe the cars brakes were faulty and quoted witnesses as saying that the car had been travelling below the speeding limit, but was unable to stop when the driver realised the brakes weren't operational. The roaring impact left the mangled wreckage embedded into the second car involved, killing the driver on impact.

The police said the crash occurred at 5:06 P.M. when the beige, four-door Audi Sedan, heading out of the city from Pearl Street, reached an impasse with a stretch of water on the road about a 100 yards away from East Tupper Street, headed to Rochester, NY where the grandparents of the unnamed baby, Anya Sokolov and Piotr Sokolov, had family—it is believed that she was intending on taking their granddaughter to visit, as confirmed by her eldest son.

Seven passengers and drivers in the pile up which followed apparently died instantly — crushed in a maze of twisted metal that was pried apart as little as a half-hour after the initial crash. The eighth and ninth, a young couple making their way to the mall, were found alive, and was rushed by ambulance to Mercy Hospital of Buffalo, where they remain in the ICU in critical condition.

The unnamed baby girl was discovered 3 hours after her father and the Sokolov's son-in-law, Derek Romanoff, raised the alarm that she was missing. Her condition is said to be stable, but she was discovered unscathed.

**'It's A Miracle'**

The man-hunt for the unnamed baby girl spanned the entire Pearl Street area and surrounding blocks — it was only by some chance of fate that a volunteer EMT, Oskar Delaney, peered into the windows of the destroyed Audi Sedan and saw the pink blanket she had been wrapped in, which had shielded her from the glass and twisted metal for the hours she had cried, unheard.

"I'm just glad I saw her," said Delaney, a 49-year-old resident of Buffalo, who said that accidents such as these were not uncommon but still tragic when there were young victims who would likely not recover from the trauma. "Anyone could've taken her," he added. "It was really lucky."

The police and local residents said the area where the accident occurred — the corner of Pearl Street before the turn off onto E Tupper Street — was an area of frequent traffic and minor crashes: the stretch of road was unused to accidents of such a proportion, and residents present were horrified by the sight that greeted them — mangled bodies, cars twisted into pretzel-like formations and blood spewing onto the streets. The area remains cordoned off pending a formal investigation.

The speed limit of 25 m.p.h. was adhered to by the Sokolov's. The area where the victims died is set to become a memorial with a plaque above the lamp which was struck by the third car involved. 

The drivers in the crash were identified by relatives as Augusta Morton, Thomas Hawthorne, Kyrsten Ohrer, Mikhail Vasiliev and Piotr Sokolov. Augusta Morton, 71 years old, a retired nurse originally from Ohio, was described by her only surviving relative, her daughter, Maria, as a strong woman who trusted her instincts above all else. Thomas Hawthorne, 18 years old, a newly accepted student to NYU, was described by his parents and two sisters, as a loving boy who only wanted the best for others and himself.

Kyrsten Ohrer, 29 years old, an office worker on Pearl Street, was described by her boss as someone who had time for everyone, and endless patience for those who needed it. Mikhail Vasiliev, 40 years old, a Russian businessman, was described by his widow as determined to make the world a better place, no matter the cost. Piotr Sokolov, 67 years old, a Rochester resident, was described by his surviving children as a good man, with a good heart and a strong perception of others.

The identities of the unnamed victims (both deceased and the two injured) have been withheld by the police pending notification of the families.

Andrew Pokov, a friend of Mr. Sokolov, said: "There's no doubt in my mind some foul play is involved in this. Piotr was not known for acting rashly, and his presence in Buffalo is most unusual of him, especially considering his history and distaste for the place — it was where he lost his daughter to her husband, where he had promised to never go.. There must have been some other reason for his presence other than taking his granddaughter for a vacation, and it certainly was not good."

Terrance Ciampa, a spokesman for the Mercy Hospital of Buffalo, said the hospital had made a room available for the families and friends of the victims, who gathered there following the accident. Many sobbed as they waited for word on their family members — many, of course, were devastated.

**Heartbreak at Mercy**

Four family members huddled in a circle before collapsing over the news, wailing: "He should've stayed home! He should've just stayed!"

The police closed off traffic and the street is still closed off to the general public for the foreseeable future as investigators examine the scene for evidence following the discovery that the Sokolov car had been leaking brake oil for miles. Sgt. Alfred Parson, a police spokesman, said the seven deaths made it the worst motor accident of the past ten years.

Sergeant Parson also said brake oil had been discovered, but the police said they did not know which car this came from or whether or not it was entirely unrelated. He was proud to report that the unnamed baby was safe, at home with her parents who were overjoyed to finally have their daughter back in their arms.

Capt. Kenneth Lawrence, a supervisor of ambulance crews with the city's Emergence Medical Service, credits Delaney and other firefighters for the discovery and safe retrieval of the five-month-old baby. "When we arrived at the scene, we had no idea a baby was missing — by the time she was discovered, we were just pleased that no real harm had been done to her in the Sedan. The others were mostly pronounced dead at the scene."

**We're So Grateful**

Angela Romanoff, mother of the unnamed baby girl, thanks the captain, police force and fire service for keeping her baby alive. "We're just, we're so grateful. There aren't enough words. Our baby is alive — alive, breathing — because of all of you. It's a miracle. It really is. Thank you, thank you so much."

The father of the unnamed baby girl was earlier roped in for questionning following an argument becoming apparent between the Sokolov's and the Romanoff's, who were closely affiliated with the Vasiliev family. The police have not confirmed if any charges are to be filed, or if the argument is even relevant to the crash in any way whatsoever.

* * *

 

" _Lyubimaya, have you read the paper?_ " 

Derek's voice is clear, the question twisting into a careful blow — it reaches it's targets ears as she stiffens, turning towards her husband with a muted smile; painfully and intensely aware she's staring into the face of a murderer.

But, there had been enough death that day.

" _Yes, dorogoi,_ " her voice is tired, a hint of resentment seeping in as she turned her head over her shoulder, _"I did."_

Angela Romanoff turns her face back to her daughter, and prays.

She prays.

She prays.

She prays.

But that's not enough.

" _Khorosho._ "

* * *

 

(Derek ends up getting off.

There's nothing anyone can do: he's an influential businessman with ties to some Senators and a bucketload of money that gets funneled into their campaigns, and an underground business that would make even the most hardened detective squirm, but nobody knows about that — and nobody needs to.

Nobody can prove anything. 

Nobody would try.)

**Author's Note:**

> welcome 2 the jungle that is my brain, and several different NYTimes articles from the early 90s/late 80s.
> 
> lyubimaya = love  
> dorogoi = darling  
> khorosho = good


End file.
